AC 7014 - Moses in Mount Horeb Then With Jethro

AC 7014

When Moses was in Mount Horeb
with Jehovah seen in a flame,
he then represented the Lord as to Divine truth;
but now with Jethro his father-in-law,
who is the good of the church
which is in the truth of simple good,
he represents the Lord as to truth from the Divine.
Here and elsewhere in the Word,
in the internal sense,
are described all the states of the Lord's life in the world,
how He then made His Human Divine.
That the states were successive,
can be seen from the fact
that the Lord when an infant was like an infant,
and that He afterward grew in intelligence and wisdom,
and continually instilled into these the Divine love,
even until He became the Divine love,
that is, the Divine being or Jehovah,
as to His Human also.
And as the Lord in this way successively put on the Divine,
He therefore first made Himself truth from the Divine,
afterward Divine truth, and at last the Divine good.
These were the steps of the glorification of the Lord
which are described here
and elsewhere in the internal sense of the Word.

AC 7007 - Reformation Requires Freedom Not Compulsion; AC 7012 - Enlightenment and Confirmation of Truths

AC 7007 - Reformation Requires Freedom Not Compulsion

. . . the Lord leaves to everyone his own freedom;
for unless a person is in freedom,
he can never be reformed.
Compulsion does not reform,
because it inroots nothing,
for that which is compulsory is not of a person's will;
but that which is free is of his will.
Nevertheless good and truth,
in order to be a person's as his own,
must be inrooted in his will,
for that which is outside the will is not the person's.
For this reason everyone is left to his freedom,
a person is allowed to think evil, and to do evil,
insofar as external fears do not restrain.
And also for the same reason,
in this world the wicked person is apparently glad
and in his glory more than the upright;
but the glorying and gladness of the wicked
are external, or of the body,
which in the other life
are turned into infernal unhappiness;
whereas the glorying and gladness of the upright
are internal, or of the spirit,
and remain and become heavenly happiness.

AC 7012 - Enlightenment and Confirmation of Truths

. . . the confirmation of truths
is effected by means of enlightenment from the Lord
when a person studies the Word
with the end of knowing truths.
As regards enlightenment
and the consequent confirmation of truths,
be it known that those
who are in externals without an internal
(as were the Jews and the Israelites)
cannot be enlightened;
thus neither can they be confirmed in truths,
whereas when those
who are in externals and at the same time in internals
read the Word, they are enlightened,
and in their enlightenment see truths,
in which they are afterward more and more confirmed;
and, wonderful to say,
everyone has such enlightenment
as is his affection of truth;
and such affection of truth as is his good of life.
Also so it is that those
who are in no affection of truth for the sake of truth,
but for the sake of their own advantage,
are not at all enlightened when they read the Word,
but are only confirmed in doctrinal things,
no matter of what kind,
whether false, as heresies are,
or entirely contrary to truths . . .;
for they do not seek the kingdom of the Lord,
but the world;
not faith, but fame;
thus not heavenly riches, but only earthly;
and if perchance they are seized with a desire
of knowing truths from the Word,
falsities present themselves instead of truths,
and at last there is denial of all things.
These things have been said
in order that it may be known
what enlightenment is,
and the consequent confirmation of truth.

AC 6997 - The Lord's Mercy

AC 6997 [5, 6]

. . . it is of Divine order
that goods are attended with rewards;
and so it is
that evils are attended with punishments . . ..

. . . all the punishments of the evil
arise from the mercy of the Lord toward the good,
lest these should be harmed by the evil;
yet the Lord does not impose the punishments on them,
but they do so upon themselves,
for in the other life
evils and punishments are conjoined together.
Especially do the evil impose punishments on themselves
when the Lord does mercy to the good,
for then evils increase upon them,
and consequently punishments.
It is from this
that instead of the "anger of Jehovah,"
by which are meant the punishments of the evil,
the angels understand mercy.

AC 6993 - Understanding the Lord's Divine Human

AC 6993

For from the Lord's Divine Human itself
proceeds Divine truth,
which is called the "Holy Spirit";
and because when the Lord was in the world
He was Himself the Divine truth,
He Himself taught the things that were of love and faith,
and at that time not by the Holy Spirit,
as He Himself teaches in John:

The Holy Spirit was not yet,
because Jesus was not yet glorified.
(John 7:39)

But after the Lord
even as to the Human
was made Jehovah, that is, Divine good,
which was after the resurrection,
then He was no longer Divine truth,
but this proceeded from His Divine good.
That the "Holy Spirit" is the Divine truth
which proceeds from the Lord's Divine Human,
and not any spirit or spirits from eternity,
is very evident from the Lord's words
cited in the passage above,
namely, that "the Holy Spirit was not yet";
also that a spirit cannot himself proceed,
but the holy of the spirit,
that is, the holy which proceeds from the Lord,
and which a spirit utters.

From all this then it follows that the whole trinity,
namely, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
is perfect in the Lord,
and thus that there is one God,
and not three,
who being distinct as to persons
are said to constitute one Divine.
That in the Word mention has been made of
"Father, Son, and Holy Spirit"
was that people might acknowledge the Lord
and also the Divine in Him.
For mankind was in such thick darkness,
as he also is at this day,
that otherwise he would not have acknowledged
any Divine in the Lord's Human;
for this, being wholly incomprehensible,
would have been to him above all belief.
And moreover it is a truth that there is a Trine,
but in one, namely, in the Lord;
and it is also acknowledged in Christian churches
that the Trine dwells perfectly in Him.
Moreover, the Lord openly taught
that He was one with the Father (John 14:9-12);
and that the holy, which the Holy Spirit speaks,
is not of the Spirit but of the Lord; in John:

The Paraclete, the Spirit of truth,
will not speak from Himself,
but whatever He hears,
He will speak.
He will glorify Me,
for He will take of what is Mine,
and announce it to you.
(John 16:13-14)

AC 6980, 6982 - Moses Represents the Lord as to the Divine Law in His Human

AC 6980

And Moses said unto Jehovah.
(Exodus 4:10)

That this means perception from the Divine
is evident from the meaning of "saying,"
in the historicals of the Word, as being to perceive;
and from the representation of Moses
as being the Lord
in respect to the Divine law in the Human
when He was in the world.
The Divine which is the source,
is meant by "Jehovah."
Consequently, it is plain
that by "Moses said unto Jehovah" is meant
that the Lord from His Divine
had perception in His Human.

AC 6982

I am not a man of words.
(Exodus 4:10)

That this means that he has no speech,
is evident from the meaning of "not a man of words,"
as being not to have the faculty of speaking,
thus to have no speech.
How this is shall be told.
Here in the supreme sense
the subject treated of is the Lord,
for Moses represents the Lord as to the law Divine,
thus as to truth Divine.
The truth which proceeds immediately from the Divine
cannot be heard by anyone,
not even by any angel;
for in order to be heard
the Divine must first become human;
and it becomes human
when it passes through the heavens;
and when it has passed through the heavens
it is presented in human form, and becomes speech,
which speech is uttered by spirits,
who when they are in this state,
are called the "Holy Spirit,"
and this is said to proceed from the Divine,
because the holy of the spirit,
or the holy truth which the spirit then speaks,
proceeds from the Lord.
From this it can be seen
that the truth
which proceeds immediately from the Divine
cannot be presented to anyone as discourse or speech,
except through the Holy Spirit.
This is meant in the supreme sense
by the statement that Moses,
who represents the Lord as to truth Divine,
says that "he is not a man of words;"
and by the fact that Aaron his brother
was adjoined to him,
who was to him "for a mouth,"
and he to Aaron "for God."

AC 6970 - Faith in Worldly Things and Faith in Spiritual Things

AC 6970

The internal sense does not treat of worldly things,
as does the external historic sense;
but of spiritual things.
Faith in worldly things is quite different
from faith in spiritual things, as for example:
to believe that people will do as they speak;
that a person is true or not true;
that to insure success, a person should do so and so,
and not otherwise;
that what is said or written is worthy of credit, or not,
besides numberless like things;
such are matters of faith in worldly things,
as also here
that the sons of Israel
were to be liberated from bondage in Egypt.
But to believe that there is a heaven and a hell;
that people will live after death,
the good in happiness to eternity,
the evil in unhappiness;
that the life remains with everyone;
that faith and charity make spiritual life,
and that this is the life which the angels have in heaven;
that the Lord has all power in the heavens and on earth,
as He Himself says (Matt. 28:18);
that from Him we live;
that the Word is the doctrine of heavenly and Divine truths;
and the like -
such are matters of faith in spiritual things,
and are here meant by "believing."

Then Jesus came to them and said,
"All authority in heaven and on earth
has been given to Me."
(Matthew 28:18)

 

Readings for Lent 2023

For many in the Christian world the observance of Lent in preparation for Easter is an important time.

In respect for this tradition, attached are two PDF files for a reading of the Gospels during Lent:

-- One is reading the Gospels in the order they occur, from the first of Matthew to the end of John.  

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Xh7Sa8BDJs_Oao_yQofgSDeLo5AhLUueWrc2COIgEkQ/edit?usp=sharing

-- The other is a reading of the Gospels in the order of events, as best as can be determined. There are many of these 'harmonies'. Unfortunately because the Gospels themselves don't give the same stories in the same order (probably because of the internal sense of each which is different), it isn't always easy to marry the narrative. But if one is wondering what story happened when, this is will give a somewhat accurate picture. If you just want to read what happens from Palm Sunday to Easter morning, that is clearly noted.
"Lent Reading Gospel Order 2023" 

 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Nqa6SB6CZuXAaxSYwh4sOYuJR0oBDz9huHl_eOap4f0/edit?usp=sharing 

Note:  Some of the formatting in Excel did not copy well into Google Files. 
My apologies, but should still be workable.

 

AC 6916 - That Good May Become Good; AC 6936 - Taking Care of Body and Mind

AC 6916 - That Good May Become Good

. . . in order that good may become good,
there must be truths to qualify it.
The reason is that when anyone lives according to truths,
the truths themselves then become goods;
and therefore such as is the quality of the truth,
such becomes the good.
This good afterward associates and adjoins to itself
no other truths than such
as are in accord with its own quality,
consequently no other than such as are helpful,
thus which are in the neighborhood and in the house.

AC 6936 - Taking Care of Body and Mind

Everyone ought to take care of his body
in respect to its food and clothing.
This must come first,
but to the end
that there may be a sound mind in a sound body.
And everyone ought to take care of his mind
in respect to its food, namely,
in respect to such things
as belong to intelligence and wisdom,
to the end that his mind may thus be in a state
to serve the Lord;
he who does this,
takes good care of himself for eternity.
But he who takes care of his body merely
for the sake of the body,
and does not think of soundness of mind,
and who does not take care of his mind
in respect to such things as are of intelligence and wisdom,
but in respect to such things as are contrary thereto,
takes bad care of himself for eternity.
From all this it is evident in what way
everyone ought to be neighbor to himself,
namely, not in the first place but in the last;
for the end must not be for himself, but for others;
and where the end is, there is the first.

AC 6904 - The Life of Truth

AC 6904

The life of truth is the life which those live
who are of the spiritual church;
for the truth which they know from the Word,
or from the doctrine of their church,
when it is made of the life,
is called good,
but it is truth in act.

AC 6880 - "I AM WHO I AM."

AC 6880

"I AM WHO I AM."
(Exodus 3:14)

That this means the Being and Coming-forth
of all things in the universe,
is evident from the fact that "I AM" is Being,
and because He alone is Being,
it is said in the nominative case.
That it is twice said "I AM," that is, "I AM WHO I AM,"
is because the one means Being
and the other Coming-forth;
thus the one signifies the Divine Itself,
which is called the "Father,"
and the other the Divine Human,
which is called the "Son;"
for the Divine Human comes-forth from the Divine Itself.

But when the Lord as to the Human
also was made the Divine Being [Esse] or Jehovah,
then the Divine truth,
which proceeds from the Lord's Divine Human,
is the Divine Coming-forth from the Divine Being.
From this it can be seen
that the Divine Being cannot communicate Itself to anyone
except through the Divine Coming-forth;
that is, the Divine Itself cannot communicate Itself
except through the Divine Human,
and the Divine Human can not communicate itself
except through the Divine truth,
which is the Holy of the Spirit:
this is meant by its being said
that all things were made by the Word (John 1:3).

It appears to a person as if the Divine truth were not such
that anything can come forth by means of it;
for it is believed that it is like a voice,
which being uttered with the lips, is dissipated.
But it is altogether otherwise;
the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord
is the veriest (most complete) reality,
and such a reality that all things have come forth from it,
and all things subsist from it;
for whatever proceeds from the Lord
is the veriest (most complete) reality in the universe;
and such is the Divine truth, which is called the "Word,"
through which all things were made.

AC 6879 - The First of the Church

AC 6879

. . . the first of the church
is the knowledge that there is a God,
and that He is to be worshiped.
His first quality to be known
is that He created the universe,
and that the created universe subsists from Him.

 

AC 6873 - 3 Instructions From the Burning Bush; AC 6876 - "The God of Your Fathers"

AC 6873 - 3 Instructions From the Burning Bush

And Moses said unto God,
Behold I come unto the sons of Israel,
and say to them,
The God of your fathers has sent me unto you;
and they say to me, What is His name?
What shall I say unto them?
And God said unto Moses,
I AM WHO I AM;
and He said, Thus shall you say to the sons of Israel,
I AM has sent me unto you.
And God said further unto Moses,
Thus shall you say unto the sons of Israel,
Jehovah the God of your fathers,
the God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob,
has sent me unto you;
this is My name forever,
and this is My memorial unto generation and generation.
(Exodus 3:13-15)

"And Moses said unto God,"
means perception from the Divine;
"Behold I come unto the sons of Israel,"
means about those who are of the spiritual church;
"and say unto them,
The God of your fathers has sent me unto you,"
means that the Divine of the Ancient Church
will be with those who are of the spiritual church;
"and they say to me, What is His name?"
means His quality;
"what shall I say unto them?"
means what answer;
"and God said unto Moses,"
means the first instruction;
"I AM WHO I AM,"
means the Being and Coming-forth
of all things in the universe;
"and He said, Thus shall you say unto the sons of Israel,"
means the second instruction;
"I AM has sent me unto you,"
means that the Divine Coming-forth shall be in that church;
"and God said further unto Moses,
Thus shalt thou say unto the sons of Israel,"
means the third instruction;
"Jehovah the God of your fathers,"
means the Divine of the Ancient Church;
"the God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob,"
means the Divine Itself,
and the Divine Human, thus the Lord;
"has sent me unto you,"
means that He will be in their church;
"this is My name forever,"
means that the Divine Human
is the quality of the Divine Itself;
"and this is My memorial unto generation and generation,"
means that He must be worshiped perpetually.

AC 6876 - "The God of Your Fathers"

And say unto them,
The God of your fathers has sent me unto you.
(Exodus 3:13)

That this means that the Divine of the Ancient Church
will be with those of the spiritual church
is evident from the meaning of the "God of their fathers"
as being the Divine of the Ancient Church;
from the representation of the sons of Israel,
here meant by "you" as being those of the spiritual church;
and from the meaning of "being sent" as being to proceed;
here that he will be with them,
for it is said of the Divine of the Ancient Church
that this shall be in the spiritual church,
which is represented by the sons of Israel.

The Divine which was of the Ancient Church
was the Lord as to the Divine Human;
the Ancient Church had this from the Most Ancient,
and also from the fact
that Jehovah was seen by them in a human form.
When therefore they thought of Jehovah,
they did not think of a universal entity,
of which they could have had no idea,
but of the Human Divine,
into which they could determine their thought;
for in this way they could both think of Jehovah
and be conjoined with Him by love.
Those who were of the Ancient Church,
and especially those of the Most Ancient,
were much wiser than the people of our times,
and yet they could not think otherwise of Jehovah
than as of a Man, whose Human was Divine;
nor did there then flow into their thought
any unbecoming idea taken from the natural man,
and his infirmity and evil,
but that which flowed in concerning Him was all holy.
The angels themselves,
who so far excel men in wisdom,
cannot think otherwise of the Divine,
for they see the Lord in the Divine Human;
they know that an angel,
with whom all things are finite,
can have no idea whatever of the Infinite,
except by what is like the finite.

That in ancient times
they adored Jehovah under a human Divine
is very evident from the angels seen by
Abraham in human form, also afterward by Lot,
and likewise by Joshua, by Gideon, and by Manoah,
which angels were called "Jehovah,"
and were adored as the God of the universe.
At this day if Jehovah were to appear in the church as a man,
people would take offense,
and would think that He could not possibly be
the Creator and Lord of the universe,
because He was seen as a man;
and moreover they would not have any other idea of Him
than as of a common man.
In this they believe themselves wiser than the ancients,
not knowing that in this
they are altogether removed from wisdom;
for when the idea of the thought is directed
to a universal entity altogether incomprehensible,
the idea falls into nothing, and is totally dissipated;
and then in its place comes the idea of nature,
to which each and all things are attributed.
Consequently, at this day
the worship of nature is so common,
especially in the Christian world.

AC 6866, 6872 - The State of the Lord's Humiliation When he Was in the World

AC 6866

So far as the Lord was in the human not yet made Divine,
so far He was in humiliation;
but so far as He was in the Human made Divine,
so far He could not be in humiliation,
for so far He was God and Jehovah.
The reason why He was in humiliation
when in the human not yet made Divine,
was that the human which He took from the mother
was evil by heredity,
and this could not come near to the Divine
without humiliation;
for in genuine humiliation
a person divests himself of all ability
to think and do anything from himself,
and wholly leaves himself to the Divine,
and thus draws near to the Divine.
The Divine was indeed in the Lord,
because He was conceived of Jehovah,
but this appeared remote
insofar as His human
was in the heredity from the mother;
for in spiritual and heavenly things
it is unlikeness of state
that causes removal and absence,
and it is likeness of state
that causes approach and presence;
and it is love that makes likeness and unlikeness.
All this shows from where came the state of humiliation
with the Lord when He was in the world;
but afterward, when He put off all the human
which He took from the mother,
insomuch that He was no longer her son,
and put on the Divine,
then the state of humiliation ceased,
for then He was one with Jehovah.

AC 6872 [2, 4]

Every person's quality is known from his love;
for love is the being of the life of everyone,
from it springing the veriest life itself;
such therefore as the love is with a person,
such is the person.
. . . if there is with a person
the love of God and the love of the neighbor,
and consequently the love of good and truth,
also of what is just and honorable,
then however he may appear in the outward form,
he is an angel as to his spirit
which lives after death.
But He with whom there is Divine love,
which was with the Lord alone, is God;
thus His Human was made Divine
when He received in the Human
the love of His Father, which was the being of His life.
From all this it can be seen what is meant by
the perception and acknowledgment
of the Divine from love.

From all this it can be seen
that a person is made altogether new
when he is being regenerated,
for then each and all things with him
are so disposed as to receive heavenly loves.
Nevertheless with a person
the prior forms are not destroyed,
but only removed;
but with the Lord the prior forms,
which were from the maternal,
were completely destroyed and extirpated,
and Divine forms were received in their place.
For the Divine love does not agree
with any but a Divine form;
all other forms it absolutely casts out;
so it is that the Lord when glorified
was no longer the son of Mary.

AC 6853 - For I have Known Their Sorrows; AC 6860 - The Hivite and the Jebusite

AC 6853 - For I have Known Their Sorrows

For I have known their sorrows.
(Exodus 3:7)

That this means foresight in regard to
how much they would be immersed in falsities,
is evident from the meaning of "knowing,"
when said of the Lord, as being foresight
(that "to know" denotes foresight is
because the Lord knows each and all things from eternity);
and from the signification of "sorrows,"
as being immersion in falsities;
for when those who are in good
are immersed in falsities,
they come into anguish and anxieties,
and are tormented;
for they love truths and abhor falsities,
and constantly think about salvation,
and about their unhappiness
if falsities should rule with them.
But those who are not in good,
care not whether they are in falsities or in truths,
for they do not think at all about salvation,
or about unhappiness,
because they do not believe in these things.
The delights of the loves of self and of the world
take away all belief about the life after death.
These persons are perpetually immersed in falsities.
Immersion in falsities appears in the other life
like one who is immersed in waves,
which according to the abundance of falsities
rise higher and higher,
until at last they rise over his head;
the waves appearing thinner or denser
according to the quality of the falsities.
With the wicked
the immersion appears as a mistiness
and as a cloudiness more or less dusky,
which compasses them about,
and quite separates them
from the serenity of the light of heaven.

AC 6860 - The Hivite and the Jebusite

And the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
(Exodus 3:8)

That this means occupied by idolatry
in which there is something of good and truth,
is evident from the representation of the Hivite,
as being idolatry in which there is something of good;
and from the representation of the Jebusite,
as being idolatry in which there is something of truth.
That such things are meant by these nations,
can be seen from the fact
that it was permitted that a covenant should be made
with the Gibeonites
by Joshua and the elders (Josh. 9:3 seq.);
and that they were made hewers of wood
and drawers of water for the house of God (verses 23, 27);
that these were Hivites see verse 7, and 11:19.
That by the Jebusites are represented
those who were in idolatry,
but in which there was something of truth,
can be seen from the fact
that the Jebusites were long tolerated in Jerusalem,
and were not driven out of it
(Josh. 15:63; 18:28; 2 Sam. 5:6-10).

AC 6489 - The Lord's Protection of Us

AC 6489 [1-2]

. . . the Lord is presented before a person
in no other way than by an internal looking,
which is effected through the faith that is from charity.
If the Lord appears to anyone in an outward form,
still it is the interiors which are affected,
for the Divine penetrates to the inmosts.
In regard to the interiors not being injured
by the presence of the Divine Itself,
and that on this account they were protected,
the case is this.
The Divine Itself is pure love,
and pure love is like a fire which is more ardent
than the fire of the sun of this world;
and therefore if the Divine love in its purity
were to flow into any angel, spirit, or person,
they would utterly perish.
So it is that Jehovah or the Lord
is in the Word so often called a "consuming fire."
Lest therefore the angels in heaven should be injured
by the influx of heat from the Lord as a sun,
they are each of them veiled over
by a certain thin and suitable cloud,
whereby the heat flowing in from that sun is tempered.

That without this preservation
everyone would perish at the presence of the Divine
was known to the ancients;
and therefore they were afraid to see God,
as is evident in the book of Judges:

Gideon saw that he was an angel of Jehovah;
and therefore Gideon said,
Ah Lord Jehovih,
forasmuch as I have seen an angel of Jehovah face to face.
And Jehovah said to him,
Peace be to thee;
fear not, for thou shalt not die.
(Judges 6:22-23)

Manoah said unto his wife,

Dying we shall die, because we have seen God.
(Judges 13:22).

And in the book of Exodus:

Jehovah said unto Moses,
Thou canst not see My faces,
for no man shall see Me and live.
(Exodus 33:20)

When therefore it was given Moses to see God,
he was put into a hole of the rock (verse 22);
by which was represented the obscurity of faith,
and also the cloudiness which covered him over,
and by which he was protected.

AC 6844, 6845 - "Take off your shoes from upon your feet"

AC 6844

Take off your shoes from upon your feet'
(Exodus 3:5)

means that the powers of the senses,
which form the external levels of the natural,
should be removed.
This is clear from the meaning of 'shoes'
as the powers of the senses
forming the external levels of the natural;
and from the meaning of 'feet' as the natural.
'Taking off' plainly means removing
since one is talking about the powers of the senses.
Particular expressions have to be used
in application to the actual matter to which they refer;
thus 'being taken off' is applied to shoes,
and 'being removed' to the powers of the senses.
The implications of all this need to be stated.
Everyone can see that shoes here represent
something that was not in agreement with the holy Divine,
and thus that to pull off the shoes
was representative of the removal of such things
Without this representation
what would it matter to the Divine
whether a person drew near in shoes or in bare feet,
provided that inwardly he is the kind of person
who can draw near the Divine in faith and love?
Therefore the powers of the senses
are meant by 'shoes',
and those powers,
which form the external levels of the natural,
are by nature such that they cannot remain
when one thinks with reverence about the Divine.
Consequently because it was a time
when representatives had to be observed,
Moses was not allowed to draw near with his shoes on.

The reason why the powers of the senses
that form the external levels of the natural
are by nature such that they cannot receive the Divine
is that they are steeped in ideas
of worldly, bodily, and also earthly things
because they are the first to receive them.
Therefore sensory impressions
contained in the memory as a result of
the activity of the senses
draw their nature from the light and heat of the world,
and hardly at all from the light and heat of heaven.
As a consequence they are the last things
that can be regenerated, that is,
receive something of the light of heaven.
This explains why,
when a person is ruled by his senses
and sensory impressions control his thinking,
he inevitably thinks of the Divine
as he does of earthly things.
If also he is ruled by evil
those impressions make him think in ways
altogether contrary to the Divine.
When therefore a person thinks
about the kinds of things that have to do with
faith and love to God he is raised,
if he is governed by good,
from the powers of the senses
which form the external levels of the natural
to more internal levels,
consequently from earthly and worldly things
nearer to celestial and spiritual ones.

This is something people do not know about,
the reason being that they do not know
that internal levels distinct and separate from external ones
are present within them,
or that thought exists on increasingly internal levels
as well as on more external ones.
And unaware of these things
a person cannot reflect on them.
But see what has been stated already
about thought ruled by sensory impressions:

-- People whose thought is ruled by sensory impressions
have little wisdom.

-- A person may be raised above the level of the senses,
and when he is raised he comes into a quite gentle light;
and this happens especially to those
who are being regenerated.

AC 6845

Consequently when a person is about to receive the Divine,
that is, matters of faith and love,
he is raised from the powers of the senses;
and once he has been raised from them,
the Divine no longer flows in there,
into the external level of the senses,
but into the more internal level
to which the person has been raised.
 

AC 6843 - The Lord Warns Moses, "Do not draw near here."

AC 6843

'And He said, Do not draw near here'
means that in thinking about the Divine
he should not do so as yet
with the powers of the senses.
This is clear from the meaning of 'drawing near Jehovah'
as thinking about the Divine.
The reason why the expression 'drawing near'
when used of a person's approach to the Lord
means thought about the Divine
is that a person cannot draw near the Divine physically
in the way one person draws near another,
 only mentally, that is, in thought and will.
No other kind of approach can be made to the Divine,
for the Divine is above the things
that belong to space and time
and is present in those things with a person
which are called states,
that is to say, states of love and states of faith,
thus states of both powers of the mind - will and thought.
It is by means of these
that a person can draw near the Divine.
This explains why here 'Do not draw near here'
means that in thinking about the Divine
he should not do so with his outward sensory powers,
meant by his shoes which he had first to take off.
The expression 'as yet' is used
because the outward sensory powers of the natural
are regenerated last
and so are the last to receive influx from the Divine.
And the state which is the subject here
was not yet such
that the sensory powers could receive
the things that flowed in.

AC 6834 - He Made Himself the Law Divine

AC 6834

The Divine good of the Divine love
is the very solar fire in the other life,
which fire is so ardent
that if it were to light on anyone
without an intermediate tempering,
even on an angel of the inmost heaven,
he would be deprived of all sense, and would perish.
Such is the ardor of the Lord's Divine love.
But when the Lord was in the world,
and united the human essence to the Divine essence,
He received the fire of this love in His Human,
and united it to the truth there
when He made Himself the law Divine.
This then is what is meant by the Divine truth
being united to the Divine good in the natural.

AC 6825 - The First Three Chapters of Exodus; AC 6828 - The Wilderness; AC 6829 - During and After Temptation

AC 6825 - The First Three Chapters of Exodus

In the first chapter, in the internal sense,
the subject treated of
was the infestation by falsities and evils of those
who are of the church;
in the second chapter
it was the beginnings and successive states
of truth Divine with them;
in this chapter in the internal sense
the subject treated of is their liberation;
and then for the first time they are instructed
who the God is who has liberated them,
that it is the Lord;
and that He introduces them into heaven
after they have been endowed
with a large amount of truth and good.

AC 6828 - The Wilderness

. . . he who is in temptation
is in vastation and in desolation,
because the falsity and evil in him
come out and darken and almost take away
the influx of truth and good from the Lord;
and the truth which flows in
does not appear to him to have sufficient life
to disperse the falsities and evils.
Moreover, evil spirits are then present,
who inject grief, and despair of salvation.
That a "wilderness" means such a state,
is evident from very many passages in the Word;
and as a "wilderness" meant a state of temptation,
and the number "forty" its duration,
however long or short,
therefore the sons of Israel
were in the wilderness forty years;
and therefore the Lord was in the wilderness
forty days when He was tempted (Matt. 4:2; Mark 1:13).

AC 6829 - During and After Temptation

When a person is in temptation,
he is beset round by falsities and evils
which impede the influx of light from the Divine,
that is, the influx of truth and good,
and then the person is as it were in darkness.
Darkness in the other life
is nothing else than being besieged by falsities,
for these take away the light
from the person who is in temptation,
and thus the perception of consolation by truths.
But when the person emerges from temptation,
then the light appears with its spiritual heat,
that is, truth with its good,
and from this he has gladness after anxiety.
This is the morning
which in the other life follows the night.
The reason why good is then perceived,
and truth appears,
is that after temptation
truth and good penetrate toward the interiors,
and there take root.
For when a person is in temptation,
he is as it were in hunger for good,
and in thirst for truth;
and therefore when he emerges
he draws in good as a hungry man devours food,
and receives truth as a thirsty man imbibes drink.
Moreover, when light from the Divine appears,
falsities and evils are removed,
and when these are removed,
the way is opened for truth and good
to penetrate more interiorly.
These are the reasons why after temptations
the good of love appears with its light from the Lord.
That after the obscurity and anxiety of temptations,
brightness and gladness appear,
is known to all in the other life,
because it is there a common occurrence.

AC 6818 - Loving Good

AC 6818

. . . each individual person is the neighbor,
yet no one person in the same way as another,
and that one governed by good
is pre-eminently the neighbor,
which means that the good present with a person
is what one should love.
For when one loves good
one loves the Lord
since the Lord is the One from whom Good comes,
who is present within Good,
and who is Good itself.